Almost

We almost got the windmill up.  But, things are not lining up perfectly and with a windmill, things have to be perfect.  So, we will look at it with fresh eyes tomorrow.

We are starting to capture chickens to keep them caged for a bit.  The roosters are going to be dinner except for the head roo.  He survived a bobcat attack and was stripped of his feathers.  Skin and muscle was ripped down to tendons.  He fought and won against a bobcat a few months back while protecting the rest of the flock.  He is a small, but tough old bird and has earned himself an exemption from the dinner platter.

I am tired of being without eggs so it is time to lock the hens up until they start laying in one spot.  Then they can be free again.  But, we will lock them up at night once they are all caught.

One of our goats got attacked in broad daylight today.  She was out wandering and came back in bad shape.  There is a bite out of her hind quarters.  We will do our best to save her, but I don't know if we can.  She's pregnant which means there is natural added stress on her body.  We won't make her suffer needlessly, but we won't give up on her either. 

The bite looks canine so we are thinking coyote.  It's too small for wolf from what I can see.  Wolves come out at night.  I've seen coyote all hours.  It's nothing to go down the road and see a few just standing on the side of the road looking at you drive by.  But for a coyote to attack during the day this close to here is strange.  Although it does explain why all the dogs went nuts earlier.

We are going to be needing more wood for winter.  Thankfully, there is enough fallen that we don't have to worry about finding any.  It's just a matter of gathering, cutting, splitting, and stacking.  Because wood is used for cooking as well as heat, we are going through a lot.  More than I hoped, but not as much as I feared if that makes sense. 

My periods are slightly off.  Last month, I was a couple of days early.  Not a big deal.  This month, I am four days early making six days off my usual cycle.  There is the mindset of "better early than late" which I agree with.  However, two months in a row of being early makes me think I need to go have my thyroid levels checks.  Although I know that test is never right because I am not always on schedule with that.  (A one month prescription can last me two or more months.)  However, for the past couple of weeks, I have been taking it most days.

I don't remember if I mentioned this or not, but we got a letter from the VA.  Husband's A1c is 7.1.  The doctor wrote in the letter that "it shows the diabetes is well controlled."  Granted, this is without medications and I don't want him back on them if it is not needed.  However, it also tells me that we are not at our goal yet.  Our goal is to be at or below 6.5.  (Ideally, we'd like to be below 6.0 and thus "not diabetic" but we are also trying to be realistic.)  His cholesterol is 145.  I remember when him having a cholesterol of 200 was cause for celebration.

The children are all doing very well.  Charlie's bottle rocket launch is tomorrow as long as it doesn't rain.  He has also been begging to cook.  So, I made up the November menu and put Wednesday as "Charlie's Choice."  I then had him go through a children's cook book and had him pick out things to make for dinner.  He bypassed all the sweet stuff, looked through the meals, and picked out some stuff he wants to make including side dishes.  He also wants to make a sweet potato pie "for dessert for the girls."  So, one day a week, Charlie will make dinner while I supervise.  (Read:  Hover and panic as I watch my baby boy become bigger and look to voluntarily take on more responsibility and involvement in the running of the house.)  You know, I was just looking at a picture of him from when he was potty training and he was sitting on the potty with a whole roll of toilet paper in his hands and spread around him looking as innocent as can be.  Hard to believe that was six years ago.  It feels like it was just last week.